Madison-Morgan Conservancy

"To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very property which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed." - Theodore Roosevelt

Educating, Preserving, Conserving Morgan County, Georgia

A Message from the President ·

EXCITING TIMES FOR THE CONSERVANCY

These are exciting times for the Madison-Morgan Conservancy. Much has been done to promote those things that enhance and preserve our environment. This is in large part due to the hard work of Christine McCauley as our full-time executive director. Chris has done an outstanding job of making our mission a reality.

As a donor of conservation easements on my family’s Goose Creek Farm, I am a strong supporter of conservation easements and am working with Chris to promote this practice to other landowners in Morgan County. If you are conservation-minded and have the need for the tax incentives provided by donating conservation easements, this is the land protection tool for you. The tax incentives are changing – some good changes, some potentially harmful changes – so please see our article on page 2 that discusses this in detail. If you are interested, please ask us to help you figure out if conservation easements are right for you.

We have been working now for over ten years to build a culture of conservation…and it’s working. With over 1,000 acres of permanently protected land, a booming local food movement, and a sustained heritage tourism industry, Morgan County is a leader in the state in conservation. Even the GA Trust for Historic Preservation thinks so, awarding the Conservancy a 2011 Preservation Award for Excellence in Preservation Service, and awarding Jane Symmes, one of our founding board members, their highest honor, the 2011 Jewett Award.

Just to summarize our work since our last newsletter: September – Farm/Estate Transition and Conservation Easement Workshop; November – Historic Preservation and Sustainability, The Next Great Debate; February – FARMeander was launched; March – Annual Membership Supper; April, Land Talks; and in May??? Well we had a great Derby Day party that raised a good bit of money so that we can do it all again next year.

More good things are on the way too: FARMeander is expanding to Newton and Walton Counties; we’ll host a conservation easement workshop in August, and among other things, we’ll host the 3rd bi-annual Greenprint Ramble. I hope you’ll join us on October 22 on the bus for a tour of the southeastern portion of Morgan County and for supper at Willow Oak Farm. Thanks to many of our local farmers, the menu has been set, and supper will again be made of Morgan County ingredients.

So there’s a lot more to do that we think is important. Morgan County has so much to offer our region and can certainly contribute to a quality lifestyle if we plan now to use our precious natural, agricultural, and historic resources wisely. The Conservancy will also continue to stay vigilant in protecting those resources.

Lastly, I want to thank each of you, our members, for your support over the last decade. Our capacity is growing as our membership is growing, and we look forward to building even more for the next decade. Please renew your memberships, or join if you are not yet a member. I look forward to seeing you at the Ramble.

Sincerely,

Bob Beauchamp President


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